What's the world coming to when the Catholic's are offended by an image of the cross? I doubt Donahue speaks for all Catholics.
I'm not on the Huckabee bandwagon, but I like the fact that he's not hiding his faith.
I wondered the same thing. Why would Donahue place his politics over his religion at Christmas?
I’m a Catholic, and I’m offended. Well, not actually offended, but I am not impressed.
Here’s the essential thing for self-government: A candidate tells you what he intends to do, and the principles he holds. Whether he arrives at those principles by human reason, or from Scripture, or from Papal Encyclicals—is irrelevant. The essential is that what he does AFTER the election is consistent with what he says BEFORE the election. If it is, then the people are self-governing. If it isn’t, or if the campaign is vague, deceptive, or vapid, then the people are being deprived of a meaningful vote.
Saying “Vote for me because I am a Christian/Catholic/Evangelical/Jew” is tribalism. It is a degenerate, unAmerican form of appeal.
I don’t mind if a candidate says “I get my positions from the Pope/Bible/Friedrich Hayek”—as long as they are STABLE and KNOWABLE. That’s why the routine promise “No official of my church will have any influence on me” is inadequate. I don’t mind if church officials DO have an influence, just so I know what that influence is BEFORE I vote, and know that the influence is STABLE and KNOWABLE. I DO mind if I suspect that a candidate will be taking instruction from church officials on an ad hoc basis AFTER the election, in a manner that is unknowable BEFORE the election.
Example: I expect a Catholic candidate to take instruction from what the Pope teaches, and has taught for 1900 years, such as that abortion is murder. If he doesn’t, he’s not a Catholic at all. I don’t expect a Catholic candidate to be taking phone calls from the Pope about transitory policy questions. (The Pope would laugh at the suggestion, btw.)